River's P.O.V.
"It's definitely his powers." Said Cato as I sat in the conference room with him Raes, and Sehrem.
"Maybe its not. Maybe its just a coincidence." Raes suggested.
"It's not a coincidence." Sehrem stated. "He told me that he's seen Cassidy's death before..."
"How does that prove anything?" I asked.
"Because when I told him to describe to me what happened he described to me the same exact thing you told me back in France. He said you accidentally killed her.... He inherited one of your abilities."
I squeezed my fists closed, trying to keep from punching something.
"Maybe its not such a bad thing..." Raes retorted.
"Not a bad thing?" I repeated, looking at him as if he'd lost his mind. "My 5 YEAR OLD SON has been having nightmares for the past two years only they're not nightmares, they're glimpses into the fucking future of people's deaths! How is that not a bad thing?!" I turned back to Cato in frustration. "Is there anything we can do to hold off on his powers from coming for a few more years?"
"I'm afraid not. Luckily foreseeing death is the only capability he's going to have for a while. His age is the age when the first part of his gift starts to emerge. The rest wont show up until he's older."
"So the kid's just gonna have to deal with being terrified to go to sleep for the next few years?" Asked Raes.
"Unfortunately."
"Cato you said there was a 1/1000th chance that he'd inherit that particular ability from me." I said, getting even more irritated.
"He's going to be a lot stronger than we all originally imagined." Said my father as he walked in. "Thats the only thing that explains why he has that ability."
"Ca'sius is right." Cato replied. "And because he's going to be stronger than we thought, his body must be able to withstand all of the power heading his way. Meaning Raes is going to have to start physically preparing him now."
"Raes is not turning my kid into a war machine at this age."
"I wont turn him into a war machine..." Raes said in assurance. "Not yet at least."
"Its best that we begin early Apollo." Ca'sius replied. "Its either that or we tell him the truth about himself and start teaching him how to use his powers. Which we all know isn't the safest decision."
"Fine." I gave in. "But so help me god Raes if I see you do anything that I dont agree with-"
"You will not interfere." Cato stated.
"Like hell I wont." I shot back.
"Brother, Kaiser is my nephew." Raes began. "Everything I teach him will be of utmost importance to guarantee his success when he gets older. I promise you I will not do anything to interfere with the way you're raising him."
I was hesitant to believe that.
I trusted Raes but he's known to be a truth bender.
..............................................
Cassidy's P.O.V.
Right after River got back from the rift, we all boarded a plane to Colorado.
We arrived at a little past 3 in the afternoon and went straight to my parents' house where Julisee and Jordan's older sister and brother were as well.
"Hi mom." I said as my mom pulled me into a hug.
"Hi sweetheart." She replied. "Its good to see you again but I hate its under these conditions."
"How's Julisee holding up?"
"She's torn. She spent the night over here last night because she didn't want to be alone. The cops still haven't found Floyd."
"He's on the run?"
"Indeed he is."
I never wish death on people but at that moment I prayed that something bad would happen to him.
"Hey Danny." I said as I walked up to him and hugged him.
"Hey sweetheart. You doing okay?"
"Not at all. Jordan's not holding up too good either. He's trying but I know its hard."
"He'll be fine. He's strong."
"That he is." I replied.
I walked over to the couch and sat next to Jordan who was talking to his mom.
Kaiser came and sat next to me.
He hadn't said a word since his incident.
"Where's uncle East?" I asked him.
He simply shrugged his shoulders.
Riley was still Kaiser's favorite person and I knew that if anyone could get Kai to cheer up it'd be him.
"Riley went with your dad to the store." Said Jordan's brother Jason as he sat on the other side of Kaiser.
"Haven't seen you in forever." I stated.
"I know. Not since Xander's funeral. I never thought the next time I'd see you would be because of another death. You've grown up."
"Yea. I'm not the same little 7 year old girl you and Xander used to chase with garden snakes."
"No you're not." He chuckled. "Dont tell me this is Kaiser."
"Yep, this is my baby boy."
"You were just about a newborn the last time I saw you." He said to Kai.
Kaiser subtlety smiled but didn't respond.
"Guessing he's shy?"
"Far from it." I replied. "He just had a rough night. So where's your kids?"
"Chelsie's with my sister. They're coming a bit later. Aaron had football practice."
"How old are they now?"
"Chels is 13. Aaron just turned 11."
"Oh wow you're getting old." I joked.
"Well I'm a year away from 35 so I guess I am."
"Hell I just turned 25 not too long ago so I'm not too far behind." I remarked. "Have you talked to your niece yet?"
"She was the first person I talked to." He said with a smile. "This is my first time meeting her yet she's already 5 years old."
"She's a sweetheart yet she acts so much like Jordan." I giggled. "It irritates him sometimes."
"I bet. Jordan used to irritate the hell out of me when he was younger. I was convinced that he and Liliana were on a mission to see who could piss me off the most. Jordan always won. Lili was just a drama queen." He slightly smiled as he started playing with his fingers. "I never would've thought in a million years that my little sister would be the first to go out of the four of us."
"Life likes to throw curveballs that's for sure." I sighed.
"That was definitely a major curveball. I could've prevented it." He said as I heard him start to choke up.
"Jason dont put this on yourself..." I replied.
"I could have... If only I knew. But I didn't know my dad was like this. I never knew about him hitting my mom or Liliana until my mom called me, telling me that he beat Lili to death. Apparently he's been hitting them for years. Yet I never knew about it. Sometimes though Lili would come over to my place with bruises all over her face and she blamed it on her clumsiness. But I was too naive to see the truth."
"You weren't too naive you were just blinded by the fact that Floyd's your dad, someone who you grew up trusting."
"All she had to do was talk to me about it. I would've done something. She came over to my house last Friday and stayed the weekend. Then Monday came and she asked if she could stay the rest of the week. I didn't question it and I told her I didn't mind. She left two nights ago to get more clothes from my parents' house and she texted me telling me that she'd come back tomorrow. The next morning came and she wasn't back. I looked at my phone and saw that I had a missed call from her but right as I was about to call her my mom called me and told me what had happened.... Apparently yesterday morning my dad refused to let her come back to my house. He got pissed when she threatened to call the cops and just lost it. Now she's gone.... My little sister didn't deserve this..."
"No she didn't. At all. But dont think you could've prevented because if you keep thinking that you're just gonna continue to blame yourself."
He nodded his head as if he understood then the strangest thing happened.
Kaiser grabbed his arm and stared into his eyes as Jason stared back. Seconds later a confused look spread on both of their faces.
I had no idea what to make of it so I didn't question it.
The front door opened and in walked Dad.
"Grandpa!" Meadow excitedly yelled as she ran to him and attacked him with a hug. He smiled and picked her up, yelling her name and matching her excitedness.
Of course I had to get my hug in as well after Rome and Gray did.
"How's my favorite daughter?" He asked.
"I'm your only daughter...."
"As far as you know." He replied causing me to smile.
"I'm alright. Could be better."
Not too long after, Riley came in.
"Omg its Cass!" He exclaimed, squeezing me to death. "Oh how I missed you!"
"I just saw you a few months ago idiot."
"Your point is?"
I couldnt help but laugh. "Hiii little brother. Or should I say big brother? Hell it looks like you've gotten a lot older since I last saw you..... And you're finally taller than me..."
"I've been taller than you since I was 16....."
"Dude you were like... 5'6 when you were 16."
"I was 6'0...."
"Okay that was like last year."
"I'm 22 Cassidy.... That was 6 years ago."
"Oh wow... Time really does fly."
He shook his head and chuckled as he looked over at Kai.
"What's wrong with my nephew?"
"He's just not feeling too good."
"I'll take care of it." He sighed as he sat next to Kai.
"Sweetie can I talk to you for a bit?" Asked Dad as he walked up to me placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Of course. What's up?"
"Can I talk to you in private I meant...."
"Uh oh.... Should I be worried?"
"Probably...."
I followed him to the backyard not sure of what to expect. But judging by his facial expression, it definitely wasn't good.